Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.04

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of 1.04 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has raised its dividend by an average of 4.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 52 years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a dividend payout ratio of 26.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $14.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.6%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 5.5 %

BDX stock opened at $226.97 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $257.58. The company has a market capitalization of $65.60 billion, a PE ratio of 46.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.